Broadway Lofts is a new mixed-use development on a brownfield site in the heart of Mt. Pleasant, MI. The project created 48 apartments with over 13,000 square feet of ground level retail. It features 48 energy efficient apartments targeted to Michigan’s workforce housing population. Twenty-five apartments are under 80% AMI. The remaining twenty-three units are under 120% AMI. Local grocery cooperative GreenTree Co-Op Market utilized the commercial space to expand their 50-year-old business.

Broadway Lofts provides a mix of downtown walkability and outdoor recreation unparalleled in the region. The building sits adjacent to the Chippewa River and the city’s well-known Island Park, which provides a variety of year-round outdoor amenities. Residents regularly cross the footbridge from Broadway Lofts, walking over the river and to the park to enjoy hiking trails, athletic courts, and gardens. Healthy grocery store GreenTree Co-Op Market is downstairs, and a variety of restaurants, bars, shops and errand stores are only 400 meters away. Inside, the building provides ample natural light in each unit, with large windows facing Broadway Street, the park, and downtown Mt. Pleasant. Unique amenities include in-unit washer and dryer, air conditioning, quartz countertops, microwaves, and ice makers. Residents have access to shared residential lounges, providing space to socialize, meet, or work remotely. Broadway Lofts also provides indoor bike storage, available for a $5/month fee.

Mt. Pleasant, Michigan is a rural city in the middle of the state’s lower peninsula and home to Central Michigan University. Citywide, 20 percent of the population are persons of color, and 35 percent are persons in poverty. Broadway Lofts was the city’s largest development in 40 years. Located in a low-income census tract, the redevelopment is in a neighborhood with at least half of households with incomes below 60 percent of AMI. The city is not experiencing rapid revitalization, nor are there concerns about displacement and gentrification. Instead, Broadway Lofts signified the end of several decades of slow disinvestment in the community. The project successfully attracted new residents to a downtown that was primarily retail and commercial space, while also adding a grocery store to a downtown that was without healthy food options.

This project was a direct response to the community’s needs and goals. For decades, the City of Mt. Pleasant and local stakeholders had tried to get this parcel redeveloped without success. The parcel had been city-owned for 10 years, and the city secured a bond to tear down the previous industrial development on the site in a bid to attract a mixed-use development. This is a community development project in the truest sense of the term, because it is a sign from the state, private funders and Michigan Community Capital, that the city is worth investing in. Both the city and state anticipate that this project will spur further reinvestment within the city’s historic downtown and across its neighborhoods.

Location: Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
Developer: Michigan Community Capital